• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.75-75
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• 2003

We report here the results on N-acetyl-N'-dimethylamide of proline (Ac-Pro-NM $e_2$) calculated using the ab initio molecular orbital method with the self-consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory at the HF level with the 6-31+G(d) basis set to investigate the conformational preference of polyproline depending on the cis/trans peptide bonds and down/up puckerings along the backbone torsion angle $\square$ in the gas phase, chloroform, and water. In the gas phase, Ac-Pro-NM $e_2$ has seven local minima of tFd, tFu, cFd, cFu, cAu, tAu, and cAd conformations. In particular, polyproline conformations tFd, tFu, cFd, and cFu are found to be more stable than $\square$-helical conformations cAu, tAu, and cAd. In contrast, Ac-Pro-NHMe has seven local minima of tCd, tCu, cBd, cAu, tAu, cFd, and cFu conformations. Conformations tCd and tCu are found to be most stable, which is ascribed to the intramolecular hydrogen bond between C=O of acetyl group and $N^{~}$ H of N'-methyl amide group. The stability of the cFd conformation (i.e., the polyproline I structure) in chloroform is somewhat increased, relative to that in water, although tFd and tFu conformations (i.e., the polyproline II structure) are dominate both in chloroform and water. The population of backbone conformations feasible in chloroform and water is consistent with the experiments. This work is supported by a Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2002-041-C00129).

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2022

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the fractal dimension (FD) measured at 2 bone sites (second cervical vertebra and mandible) on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The research question was whether FD could serve as an accessory tool to refer postmenopausal women for densitometric analysis. Therefore, the reliability and accuracy of FD were evaluated. Materials and Methods: In total, 103 postmenopausal women were evaluated, of whom 52 had normal bone mineral density and 51 had osteoporosis, according to dual X-ray absorptiometry of the lumbar spine and hip. On the CBCT scans, 2 regions of interest were selected for FD analysis: 1 at the second cervical vertebra and 1 located at the mandible. The correlations between both measurements, intra- and inter-observer agreement, and the accuracy of the measurements were calculated. A P value less than 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance for all tests. Results: The mean FD values were significantly lower at the mandibular region of interest in osteoporotic patients than in individuals with normal bone mineral density. The areas under the curve were 0.644 (P=0.008) and 0.531 (P=0.720) for the mandibular and vertebral sites, respectively. Conclusion: FD at the vertebral site could not be used as an adjuvant tool to refer women for osteoporosis investigation. Although FD differed between women with normal BMD and osteoporosis at the mandibular site, it demonstrated low accuracy and reliability.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.17-34
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• 2023

This study aimed to investigate the current status of faculty development (FD) programs operated by medical colleges and institutions in Korea, and to suggest future-oriented directions for FD. A survey was conducted targeting medical colleges and medical education institutions that operate FD programs. We investigated the reasons for selecting topics, program themes, program operation methods, longitudinal program status, program improvement and quality control methods, the evaluation of the program effects, the outcomes and problems of the programs, and opinions on the latest trends. Twenty-nine out of 40 medical colleges and three out of six institutions responded. Topics were selected based on an analysis of medical education trends and the educational environment in both groups. The most common program themes were assessments in medical colleges, and teaching/learning and curriculum themes in institutions. FD was perceived to induce professors' and administrators' interest in medical education and improve the quality of medical education. The most common program method was workshops. Three medical colleges and one institution had longitudinal programs. Participant surveys constituted the most common method of evaluating programs' effects. Difficulties in publicizing programs and inducing voluntary participation were the most common problems in both groups. New attempts for FD were perceived as the role of external institutions. Based on the results, it is necessary to develop a framework and quality improvement indications for FD programs in the future, and FD programs are expected to be developed through new initiatives, such as longitudinal programs and those focusing on the community of practice.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.101-129
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• 1995

This paper proposes a form-based distributed database design methodology ($FD^3$). The methodology consists of five design phases such as (i) form requirement analysis (ii) schema integration (iii) distribution analysis (iv) distribution design, and (v) local logical/physical design. In the $FD^3$, all the important design information for each phase is obtained by using an organizations forms, Users requirements are analyzed by using forms that contain logical and quantitative information for distribution design. $FD^3$ resolves naming conflicts by employing SQLs based on the form field data in the schema integration phase. Furthermore, $FD^3$ enhances the quality of distributed database design by incorporating communication costs into the design model. A real-life case is illustrated to demonstrate the usefulness of the $FD^3$.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.69-74
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• 2010

Feeding is an important aspect of insect nutrition which in turn supports growth, development, reproduction and survival. The impact of quantitative feeding on nutritional parameters of fifth instar Antheraea mylitta larvae was studied by providing fresh leaves of Terminalia tomentosa for 1 to 4 times a day. All the parameters improved upon providing fresh diets more times over the single diet (1FD). The absolute body weight increased with increase in number of feeds/day significantly (P<0.001). While the maximum weight recorded was 29.61 g in 1FD, the respective weights for two feeds/day (2FD), three feeds/day (3FD) and four feeds/day (4FD) were 39.41 g, 40.63 g and 42.66 g respectively. Feeding period and instar duration were declined (P<0.001) and survival increased significantly (P<0.001) upon increase in the number of diets. Nutritional indices like ingestion, digestion, relative consumption rate (RCR), relative growth rate (RGR) and gain in body weight increased significantly with the increase in number of feeds/day, but approximate digestibility (AD) and efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) declined, while efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) did not change.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10887-10891
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• 2015

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a well known major cause of gastric cancer and even when asymptomatic infected patients are at elevated risk. Functional dyspepsia (FD) is also one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases, which greatly impacts the quality of life. H. pylori infection and psychosocial stress are frequently associated with FD but limited studies have confirmed the relationships, especially in Southeast Asian countries. Here we aimed to investigate the prevalence and impact of H. pylori infection, anxiety and depression on Thai FD patients. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care center in Thailand, during February 2013-January 2014. All FD patients were diagnosed and categorized by Rome III criteria into epigastric pain syndrome (EPS) and postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) groups. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to evaluate psychological status. The presence of H. pylori was defined as positive with H. pylori culture, positive rapid urease test or positive histology. Results: Three hundred FD patients were included, 174 (58%) female. Overall mean age was 54.8+15.1 years. There were 192 (64%) patients with PDS and 108 (36%) with EPS. H. pylori infection was demonstrated in 70 (23.3%) patients. Anxiety and depression were documented in 69 (23%) and 22 (7.3%), respectively. H. pylori infection, anxiety and depression were significantly higher in PDS than EPS patients (27.1% vs 16.7%; p=0.04; OR=1.86; 95%CI=1.01-3.53 and 29.7% vs 11.1%; p=0.0002; OR=3.4; 95%CI=1.7-7.1 and 10.4% vs 1.9%; p=0.006; OR=6.2; 95%CI=1.4-38.9, respectively). Conclusions: H. pylori infection, anxiety and depression were commonly found in Thai FD patients and more prevalent in PDS than EPS. H. pylori eradication might be the key to success for the treatment of Thai FD patients and prevent the development of gastric cancer.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.231-235
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the trabecular pattern on panoramic radiographs to predict age-related osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: Thirty-one postmenopausal osteoporotic women and 25 postmenopausal healthy women between the ages of 50 and 88 were enrolled in this study. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar vertebrae and femur were calculated using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and panoramic radiographs were obtained. Fractal dimension (FD) was measured using the box counting method from 560 regions of interest ($51{\times}51$ pixels) in 6 sites on the panoramic radiographs. The relationships between age and BMD and between FD and BMD were assessed, and the intraobserver agreement was determined. Results: There was a significant difference in the FD values between the osteoporotic and normal groups (p<0.05). There was a significant difference in the FD values at three sites in the jaws (p<0.05). Age was significantly correlated with the BMD measurements, with an odds ratio of 1.25. However, the FD values were not significantly correlated with the BMD measurements, with an odds ratio of 0.000. The intraobserver agreement showed relatively higher correlation coefficients at the upper premolar, lower premolar, and lower anterior regions than the other sites. Conclusion: Age was an important risk factor for predicting the presence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. The lower premolar region was the most appropriate site for evaluating the FD value on panoramic radiographs. However, further investigation might be needed to predict osteoporosis using an FD value on panoramic radiographs.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2020

Marine algae contain a variety of substances, such as mycosporine-like amino acids, which can defend against UV irradiation. Among them, Porphyra-334 derived from Porphyra yezoensis is attracting attention as a novel active ingredient for anti-aging cosmetics because of its excellent anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing properties through promoting skin cell migration. In this study, a process using direct current (DC) for increasing the yield of large-scale purification of Porphyra-334 was developed. When DC was applied to obtain Porphyra-334 efficiently, the purification time was shortened by approximately 1/4 compared with the process wherein DC was not applied; moreover, the yield of purification was improved.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.509-518
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• 2019

A novel islanding detection method is proposed in this paper. It is based on a frequency drooping PLL, which was presented in a previous work. The cause of errors in the non-detection zone (NDZ) of conventional frequency disturbance islanding detection methods (IDM) is analyzed. A frequency drooping phase-locked-loop (FD-PLL) is introduced into a single-phase grid-connected inverter (SPGCI), which can guarantee that grid current is in phase with the grid voltage. A novel FD-PLL IDM is proposed by improving this PLL. In order to verify the performance of the proposed FD-PLL IDM, a full performance comparison between the proposed IDM and typical existing active frequency drift IDMs is carried out, which includes both dynamic performance and steady performance. With the same NDZ, the total harmonic distortion of the grid-current in the dynamic process and steady state is analyzed. The proposed FD-PLL IDM, regardless of the dynamic or steady process, has the best power quality. Experimental and simulation results verify that the proposed FD-PLL IDM has excellent performance.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.143-149
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• 2023

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a chronic and recurrent upper gastrointestinal symptom that has no organic cause. A 49-year-old male patient positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) visited the clinic because of FD and constipation. He received complex Korean medicine treatment, including acupuncture and herbal medicines, from April 14 to July 18, 2022 (27 times) in the outpatient department. Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI), FD-related quality of life (FD-QoL), Euro QoL visual analog scale (EQ-VAS), and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) were used as evaluation tools in this study. Symptoms were relieved after 3 months of treatment, and his QoL improved (GSRS, 15-3; NDI, 110-21; FD-QoL, 52-20 [eating status, 10-3; liveliness status, 12-8; psychological, 1-0; role-functioning status, 18-9]; EQ-VAS, 40-65; NRS, 8-4). The results revealed that complex Korean medicine treatment could alleviate FD and constipation in patients with HIV.